November is Variable

It really shouldn't be a surprise to me, but here it is, early November, and I have started the first second daytime fire to warm up the house.  For quite awhile at the beginning/end of the heating season, we can get away with just a fire in the evening to take the chill off.  I was on my way home today last week and ran smack dab into the first snow squall of the season.  It was pretty impressive considering that it was about a 70/30 mix with rain; even so, the road was slushy and snow accumulating at the grass line in a matter of minutes.

The pumpkins sold really well and now we're moving on to other fall-themed objects.  The Canadian geese turned out quite well (and can be found in my Etsy shop).  I'm working on a turkey, but need to figure out a better way to do the tail before it's ready for prime time.

There has been much knitting.  Mittens for a grown-up neighbor, mittens for the wee ones next door and fingerless mitts for the shop where I have stuff consigned.

I have begun thinking of what to do about Christmas gifts and must get cracking on those.  There's a pair of mittens on the knitting list and will probably weave something (like placemats or table runners maybe).

Hmm, must finish posts in a more timely manner.  They say if you wait a bit, the weather will change around here.  They're right.  Ever since that ugly, slushy day we have been enjoying Indian Summer weather.  Some days are better than others...yesterday I pulled my "Cheeto" chair out into the sun and out of the wind.  Nice comfy spot to knit a bit!

Mornings are still quite chilly.  This morning I noticed that there had been some hoar frost.  I just love the way it looks, so popped outside before I had even had my first cup of tea.  It is such a fleeting occurrence and it was melting off as I took pictures.

Another thing I noticed?  Well, Bambi has been busy.  Not the kitty.  I guess I'll see if hanging a bar of soap will deter the big lug before he does any more damage.  Darn things are a real nuisance around here!

T

Frosty Start

We had a very frosty start to the day. Actually, it was not our first frost. The tomatoes, squash & eggplant had already had enough.

We have made a concerted effort to pick up after our garage sales and have taken even more off to Salvation Army. Some horse stuff sold at a tack sale last weekend and I have sucked it up and started listing on ebay again. The first items have only been listed for a few hours and there are already people looking. No bids yet, but that often does not happen until towards the end of the listing.

The pumpkin factory is going strong. The shop in Leroy took my entire

stock of them and would also like some geese. A friend placed an order for a pumpkin and I'll be making a bunch to take to spinning guild this coming weekend. 50 of our guild members will be bussing it to Rhinebeck, but there will still be many attending our regular meeting.

A farm stand down the street from us really puts on a show at Halloween and I couldn't resist taking some pictures.

Pumpkins, Lots of Pumpkins

Here it is, another October. It's an iffy month around here. It can range from absolutely perfect shiny, brilliant fall days to weather we would rather not talk about. I haven't been terribly observant and noticed the other day that we have, indeed, had a mild frost (probably the end of September) so the tomatoes are pretty much done. The peppers are up by the house, so while a bit unhappy, are still OK.

Our Finger Lakes Fiber Festival was probably one of the best ever. Every year, we try to smooth over any bumps in the road from the previous year and it's really starting to show. Our skein and garment competition is a fabulous display. And I'm not just saying that because I'm the coordinator...see for yourself:

It's a really nice festival, so if you haven't been yet, make sure you block off next year's calendar (3rd weekend in September).

We also had a garage sale and sold a few things. As it was set up, we even had it over two weekends. The second weekend, it occurred to me that it was October after all, so I needle-felted some jack-o-lanterns and one goose. None of them sold at our sale, but 5 pumpkins and 1 goose sold tonight at our local spinning group.

This is a good thing. However, I need to make a bunch more as my Mom arranged for me to meet with a gift shop owner to show her some of my products, so I will need to make some more by Friday. There is also a horse equipment swap-n-shop on Saturday that I would like to have some of them available for. And also our regular spinning guild meeting on the 3rd Saturday of the month... I guess I'll be making lots of pumpkins!

16 Ways to Tell That Fall is Coming

1. The pool is very, very refreshing (a balmy 68 F a few days ago). How did I know? Well, I was quite warm from doing a bit of gardening and decided that a dip was a good idea. That may have been the last dip of the season.

2. I'm thinking that my newly-painted Adirondack chair needs to move into the sun, instead of the shade. Rather than tangerine, I'll call it pumpkin.

3. The trees lose that vibrant green color...it gets kind of flat and muted. There are even a few early birds that are starting to turn color, especially south of here in the hills.

4. The sun goes down much earlier. For some reason, this comes as a surprise to me every year.

5. There's not as many song birds around. Just crows, the flock (a huge number of starlings that make one think of the "The Birds") and Canadian geese (lots of those milling around).

6. You haven't seen a lightning bug in quite a few weeks.

7. When you cut the grass, it smells like fall.

8. The show season is winding down. I was both a bad mom and a bad blogger today as I totally forgot to bring a camera to watch DD compete in goat tying for the first time. I had no idea that my daughter could fling and tie up a goat that neatly (and come in 4th of 8).

9. You wonder where you put your sweaters.

10. You wonder where you put your long pants.

11. You wonder where you put your socks. Or for that matter, your shoes.

12. You start stash diving for larger projects...spinning or knitting, doesn't matter as long as it's warm and woolly. Unless, of course, you just finished something large. In that case, may I suggest mittens, a hat or socks?

13. You start thinking about cooking again. Things like bread, lasagna, pot roast and pies.

14. The cats decide that helping you with anything woolly is the most important part of their day.

15. When the Yarn Harlot says she's looking for a mitten pattern, you drop everything and look for one. I didn't find one that I thought was just what she was looking for, but I did find Cats and Horses. Ahh, the wonders of the interwebs and instant gratification. Other than stash diving, I'm good to go!

16. The Finger Lakes Fiber Festival is 6 days away, September 19 & 20 in Hemlock, NY. It's a very nice festival and I'm not just saying that because I help organize it. We have over 80 vendors (with wonderous products to keep you busy and inspired), excellent food vendors, a growing Farmer's Market, workshops and competitions for fleeces, skeins & garments. You can see it all in one day, but two is better!

Summer's Here!

Finally, summer got here. A little on the over-achieving side, but I'll deal with it. Of course, we've been quite busy, like most of us get in the summer.

The other day, I was behind a dump truck. Has anyone else thought that this sign is one of the dumbest signs ever to have on the back of a truck? You can only see one of these signs if you

are following the truck. What am I supposed to do? Turn around and go the other way?

Last Sunday, DD showed at Erie Co

unty Fair outside of Buffalo, NY. This fair has been right up there competing with being the largest fair in the United States (including state fairs).

I had heard that it was better than NYS Fair and you know what, it is. The grounds are clean and well organized, they have maps, there are exhibits, there are cheesy midway shows, there is a midway, animals, etc...way too much to see in one 95 degree day. Yes, it was hot. Very hot. Despite the heat, DD and Sugar did very, very well: 4 2nds, 1 3rd, 2 4th, 1 5th. They showed English, Western and Games, so were busy all day long.

I've been helping hubby on a job site. My job...stripping wallpaper. The interesting turn of events is that we used to own the house. Yes, I am stripping the wallpaper that I put up over 25 years ago. Let me tell you...always, always size the walls. It sure has made the job move right along. I must say that I did a pretty good job hanging it, too. Other than places where it had been much abused by the interim owner, it's still on the walls.

As far as future fiber biz is concerned, progress is slow. It's summer and many people that I need help from are on vacation and/or very busy. As much as I want to go faster, I'll just keep plugging along on the planning end and just keep on calling people until they answer!

I've gotten some very good feedback on the survey and I thank everyone who's participated. It's still active on Survey Monkey, so Click Here to take survey.

As summer is winding down, I'm sure some of you are thinking that school starts (or even has started in some areas) soon. So, how about an "Ivy League Cat"?